El Nido, Philippines - February 12, 2006
El Nido, Palawan. My first impression was somewhat of a disapointment - as I had very high expectations. But its growing on me fast. I guess I was expecting a large beach with lots of swimmers and white sands. I also expected the beautiful limestone cliffs - and there are plenty of them, and they are beautiful. But for swimming and such, its okay, but definetely not like Boracay or other beaches around. Its still beautiful though.
The town of El Nido itself is small and I guess you'd call it quaint. There are some good cafes and bars around with games, nice styles and the such. The real attraction of the place is the diving and boat rides. We booked an evening cruise around the bay tonight. I'm thinking that will be a highlight.
The place I keep comparing El Nido to in my mind is Halong Bay in Vietnam. The jagged cliffs in the ocean type of thing. Its definetely beautiful. I guess its the difficulty in getting here that makes me wonder if it was overall worth it or not. Either that or I've just seen enough beautiful beaches in the Philippines already that it just feels like yet one more of the same. The bus ride up here from Puerto Princesa took 7 hours.. half of which was a very dusty bumpy road. The other half which was paved, was quite nice and comfortable. It looks like they are in the process of paving the entire road in due time. Lots of strong road bridges being built and construction everywhere. Once that is in place, it shouldn't take long at all to get to El Nido.
More on the Philippines..
February 13, 2006
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